Romanian player defeats Vikesh Shah for a €44,475 victory
Marius Alexandru Gicovanu became the champion of the €350 OLA Poker Tour Rozvadov 2026 Main Event after defeating Vikesh Shah in heads up play at King’s Resort.
The Romanian player, also known online as AAlexandru Nec, earned €44,475 for the victory after overcoming a 724 entry field. Gicovanu returned for the final day third in chips and managed to survive the last 16 players to claim his biggest result from the tournament.
The final table marked the conclusion of the second OLA Poker Tour stop hosted at King’s Resort during the year. The festival ran from September 9 to 14 and featured €500,000 in total guarantees across multiple events.
Main Event creates a strong field despite missing guarantee
The Main Event featured a €400,000 guarantee, but the tournament finished with 724 entries and a final prize pool of €336,000.
The event also offered additional incentives, with the top 10 finishers receiving €3,000 packages toward the upcoming King’s Million European Poker Championship.
Gicovanu started the final day with 3,885,000 chips. He was behind Ireland’s Ian Walsh, who held 7,355,000, while Dutch player TFFT entered with 4,450,000. The blinds were already at 500,000, meaning every decision carried major importance from the beginning.
Several players from German speaking countries reached the final 16, but none managed to reach the final table. Alexander Fischl was eliminated in 16th place, followed by Klas Klinker in 15th and Bela in 14th.
Thomas Koehler’s run ended after his pocket jacks lost against an opponent who had flopped a set. Frank Michael Andreew finished in 11th place, while Sascha Christian Frick became the final German elimination after his pocket sixes were defeated by Umberan Akhtar’s pocket queens.
Gicovanu stays patient as final table field shrinks
Ian Walsh entered the final table as chip leader, but his advantage disappeared quickly. He was eliminated in ninth place for €9,150.
Milan Manojlovic followed in eighth place for €9,575, while Kayser Soze collected €11,700 after finishing seventh. Giuseppe Cangemi then left in sixth place for €14,400.
TFFT, who had started the final day among the leading stacks, finished fifth for €19,150.
Throughout the eliminations, Gicovanu remained in contention. Alongside him were Vikesh Shah, Ori Ben Avraham and Umberan Akhtar, with all four players fighting for the title and the biggest payouts.
Gicovanu wins final battle against Shah
The final four players reached a deal that secured strong payouts for everyone remaining, while the trophy and the remaining prize differences were still decided at the table.
Akhtar was the first player eliminated after the agreement, finishing fourth for €33,950. Ori Ben Avraham followed in third place and earned €36,350.
Heads up play began with Gicovanu holding a significant advantage. The Romanian had 24.8 million chips compared with Shah’s 11 million.
Shah managed one double up to extend the match, but he could not complete another comeback.
The final hand saw Gicovanu holding K♠Q♦ on the button, while Shah had J♥8♥. The flop came K♥4♥5♦, giving Gicovanu top pair and Shah a flush draw.
After a sequence of bets, Shah moved all in and Gicovanu called. The Romanian’s pair of kings remained ahead, securing the title and the Main Event victory.
OLA Poker Tour Rozvadov 2026 Main Event final table results
- Marius Alexandru Gicovanu, Romania, €44,475 ($51,145)
- Vikesh Shah, United Kingdom, €40,675 ($46,775)
- Ori Ben Avraham, Israel, €36,350 ($41,805)
- Umberan Akhtar, United Kingdom, €33,950 ($39,045)
- TFFT, Netherlands, €19,150 ($22,025)
- Giuseppe Cangemi, Italy, €14,400 ($16,560)
- Kayser Soze, Turkey, €11,700 ($13,455)
- Milan Manojlovic, Czech Republic, €9,575 ($11,010)
- Ian Walsh, Ireland, €9,150 ($10,525)
King’s Resort prepares for another major festival
The conclusion of the OLA Poker Tour event highlighted the depth of the player field at King’s Resort. A €350 buy in tournament attracted hundreds of entries and produced a competitive final table with players from multiple countries.
The next major festival at the venue will be the King’s Million European Poker Championship. Several players who narrowly missed out on a title in Rozvadov will have another opportunity to compete for major prizes in the coming weeks.
At BCPoker, we continue to follow major live poker events and highlight the stories behind the players who turn deep runs into career defining victories.
